Warning: Cough and Cold Remedy Abuse in Teens
Consumers have trusted the makers of over-the-counter medications with the health of their families for many years. Now, they are alerting communities and educating parents about a growing problem: the intentional abuse of cough medicines among teens. To learn more about this problem and to find out what you can do to help stop cough medicine abuse, take a moment to check out the materials and programs listed below.
Parent and community resources are available at www.stopmedicineabuse.org. Although it may not always seem obvious, parents remain the most powerful voice in their teen’s life, especially where substance abuse attitudes are concerned.
To help prevent or stop teen medicine abuse, parents should:
- Educate themselves about the problem of teens looking to medications as a means to a high and know the warning signs.
- Talk to their teens about all types of drug abuse, including cough medicine abuse.
- Safeguard their medicine cabinets, and know what products they have and how many.
- Monitor their teens’ Internet use.
- Seek professional help if they think their child has a substance abuse problem.
- There are Public Service Announcements – Radio, TV, and print advertisements to help raise parental awareness about this teen substance abuse problem. Preventing Teen Cough Medicine Abuse: A Parent’s Guide, in English and Spanish-Educational brochures for parents. www.DXMstories.com includes credible, sometimes graphic, information for teens by teens about the dangers and potential consequences of cough medicine abuse.
The above information was provided by CHPA, Consumer Healthcare Products Association. www.OTCsafety.org.
